Jack Vance Quote
While Milke gingerly carried the packet of explosive across the lake, Paskell stood by the port watching. Milke surveyed the landscape with fine calculation, setting down the packet, moving it a few yards to the right, another few yards toward the defile. Finally satisfied, he looked back to Paskell for approval. Paskell signaled casually, and his hand fell against the detonation switch. He looked out toward Milke, hastily jumped into his [pressure] suit, let himself through the port, ran across the lake.Milke asked, What's the trouble?Paskell said, That remote detonator doesn't work. I'd better take a look at it.Milke stared at him truculently. How do you know it doesn't work?Paskell made a vague gesture, knelt beside the packet, unfolded the wrapping.You couldn't have just sensed it, Milke insisted.Well, as a matter of fact, my hand accidentally hit the switch, and it didn't go off—so I though I'd better run out and see what was wrong.Milke seemed to sink in his suit. For a moment there was silence. Ah, said Paskell. Nothing very serious; I neglected to clip down the battery leads . . . .now it's ready to go—I'm going back to the ship, said Milke thickly.
While Milke gingerly carried the packet of explosive across the lake, Paskell stood by the port watching. Milke surveyed the landscape with fine calculation, setting down the packet, moving it a few yards to the right, another few yards toward the defile. Finally satisfied, he looked back to Paskell for approval. Paskell signaled casually, and his hand fell against the detonation switch. He looked out toward Milke, hastily jumped into his [pressure] suit, let himself through the port, ran across the lake.Milke asked, What's the trouble?Paskell said, That remote detonator doesn't work. I'd better take a look at it.Milke stared at him truculently. How do you know it doesn't work?Paskell made a vague gesture, knelt beside the packet, unfolded the wrapping.You couldn't have just sensed it, Milke insisted.Well, as a matter of fact, my hand accidentally hit the switch, and it didn't go off—so I though I'd better run out and see what was wrong.Milke seemed to sink in his suit. For a moment there was silence. Ah, said Paskell. Nothing very serious; I neglected to clip down the battery leads . . . .now it's ready to go—I'm going back to the ship, said Milke thickly.
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About Jack Vance
Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984, and he was a Guest of Honor at the 1992 World Science Fiction Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 15th Grand Master in 1997, and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001, its sixth class of two deceased and two living writers.
His most notable awards included Hugo Awards in 1963 for The Dragon Masters, in 1967 for The Last Castle, and in 2010 for his memoir This Is Me, Jack Vance!; the Nebula Award in 1966, also for The Last Castle; the Jupiter Award in 1975 and the World Fantasy Award in 1990 for Lyonesse: Madouc. and the Edgar Award in 1961 for the best first mystery novel for The Man in the Cage.
His first publications were stories in science fiction magazines. As he became well known, he published novellas and novels, many of which were translated into French, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Italian and German. An Integral Edition of all Vance's works was published in 44 volumes and in 2010 a six-volume The Complete Jack Vance was released. A 2009 profile in The New York Times Magazine described Vance as "one of American literature's most distinctive and undervalued voices". He died at his home in Oakland, California on May 26, 2013, aged 96.